This invention relates generally to methods for obtaining parental consent for a child to access a computing resource, and in particular, methods for verifying a parent-child relationship and obtaining parental authorization by a social networking system.
Under certain government regulations, such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), operators of websites or online services that are directed towards children or that may otherwise collect personal information from children are required to obtain parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of the children's personal information. Parental consent is also appropriate when children request access to websites or online services that contain mature content or are primarily directed to adults.
Conventionally, parental authorization can be obtained through methods such as requiring credit card information, contacting the parent directly (i.e., via mail or fax), or obtaining a parent's signature on a consent form. These methods may be ineffective and burdensome on a larger scale, especially when hundreds of children request access to a website each day.
Additionally, methods for obtaining parental consent can be subject to fraud and inaccuracies. For instance, a child may take his parent's credit card and use it to gain access to a website without the parent's consent. An operator of the website lacks sufficient information to authenticate that the person giving consent is the parent of the child. Accordingly, there is a need for methods to obtain verifiable parental consent for a child's access to online websites and services.